>> "washington journal" takes your calls and e-mails live every morning starting at 7 a.m. eastern, here on c-span. >> "newsweek" is reporting exclusively that saturday morning president obama received a high-order briefing three days before christmas, about terrorists threats. the highest officials are a part of this. and talk about that this hour, and thought we would get your

feelings on airport security, what have you noticed and changed in the days of the incident coming into detroit. if you have been to the airport, or know someone who has, call the numbers on your screen. your experience with airport security lately. there is this story in "the washington post", lawmakers knew of tsa pick era, and it's a follow-up of the nominee. lawmakers knew of tsa pick's error, the latest is that the democratic senators lobbied around tsa pick, and as new details emerged that key lawmakers knew that he had

mischaracterized a personal incident in his testimony, washington supported rogers of his assessing confidence criminal records 20 years ago of his then estranged wife's boyfriend. as congress returns from winter recess says that it's critical that tsa instaulll -- install this leadership. on friday jim demint who earlier delayed souther's nomination, if he can't tell the truth, he should not be qualed and should not be confirmed. and they add that senator

collins that raise suspicions about southerners' statements to the senate homeland security and says that on friday she is satisfied with his nomination. and on that security, as we wait for your phone calls to come in. "the new york times" has this picture from newark international airport, that experts are ready but not to overreact. and the headline says what to expect as airport security rules are tightened. the best way to prepare for the rules, pretty much as you did for the old rules. that means becoming familiar with the rules of what is allowed in carry-ons and checked bags. the rules about liquids and holiday foods and gifts, don't wrap them is available at

www.tsa.gov. first call, ann , have you been to the airports? caller: yes, i flew back yesterday. host: where were you going and coming from? caller: i was going to dallas, texas and flew through l.a. host: what did you encounter that was new and different? caller: it was amazing, you almost couldn't tell, it was just a little stricter in terms of paying more attention to the liquid/gels routine and there were more undercover police at the security check-points. and there were policemen with dogs and things in the airports. host: did you have concerns

going into your trip that your safety might be at risk and did all of that extra activity help? caller: i was not worried about my security. i was more worried that there would be a big problem getting through security and that sort of thing. and i was relieved to see they were paying more attention. but it was only more efficient, but i could tell as i was going through the airports and walking around. because i walk around a lot in an airport, you could tell there were undercover police and obvious policemen with dogs there. host: thanks for sharing your situation, we have michael calling in on the independent line from georgia, good morning to you. caller: hi, good morning, i am from boston but in georgia. host: tell us the story.

caller: i fly a lot to work, and usually never have any issues. but for some reason my computer backpack bag was the target of a lot of inquiry. and they had a special machine that i shouldn't seen where they touched the bag in a different area with a piece of plastic and it looked like a spoon and i didn't know what it would do. but i think maybe they thought they were testing it for explosives. i don't know, it sounds crazy. i do fly all the time, my concern is why don't they have a way to recognize the frequent fliers. that seems like an easy thing to do. they did end up finding a tiny knife that i had in the pocket

of my bag. it was a knife i never used, one of those swiss army knives, a tiny one, and i had forgotten that it was in there. they did confiscate that, i didn't want to take a knife. it wasn't a real knife, it's a tiny thing that they sell. host: got you caller, i was jumping in and wanted to get your broader sense on your experience and what you saw. is it all necessary in your view? does it make a difference in your mind? caller: no, i don't think it's all necessary, i think they are running scared because of things that might or might not happen. i think they need to focus on people that are like they said, this guy bought a one-way ticket and coming from africa. there ought to be a way to

identify the frequent fliers so they don't hold things up unnecessarily. host: got you, jeff is on the line, your experience at the airport? caller: well, i flew from fresno to pittsburgh on monday, i noticed no difference. host: nothing different? why do you think that is? caller: maybe because of a larger airport at point of origin, like lax, because that's where my connection was. host: should there be more in your view? caller: i don't know, i hadn't thought about it, and my brother gave me some nail clippers and i checked that in my baggage than as a carry-on. and that's what i did differently, i did my bag different, i didn't want to take it on and they would take that and say good-bye, and you

can't have that. host: appreciate your thoughts and back to the "new york times" piece on airport security, again www.tsa.gov is tsa's website. and they say when waiting if the the airport, be equipped to prepare, and they say to put your carry-ons on top of the gray bin, that makes things go a lot faster. and david in dallas says you should talk to your children and envision the whole trip. don't overreact, don't get to the airport hours before your flight and may cause more problems. this is a quote, what we have

been seeing is a huge clump of people in the mornings. and the experts are saying to show up earlier, and it's not necessary. and suzane trevino from t.s.a. says to remind travelers to make sure prohibited items are not available. caller, what is where you are situation? caller: i think they are using this situation to check bags and get another $20 out of people. my son came in and had to check a bag that he never had before. that's one thing. and we learned like the brownie thing that bush had for katrina, if we have got someone

who is not qualified to be an executive for t.s. a., let's not worry about the politics and get the best person for the job. they have a scanning device that can tell if someone mentally going to use themselves as a suicide bomber, this would be less inconvenient to have someone pulled from a flight because of a false positive than to have an airplane go down. host: we have john on the independent line, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span, we are so scared these days, the american people. ever since the bush administration, this is ridiculous, it really is.

we are spending too much money, we have the department of homeland security, $100 million a year, and they do nothing. the attacks were caused by the people on the plane. these are ways to get us to spend more and more money. host: caller, have you been to the airport lately? caller: i have and this is ridiculous. host: what did you notice that was new and different? caller: what is new and different is that you have to take off your shoes. it's a big mess and go over here and here, and do this. you got all of these people working there in the airport. these people are making money. it's a lot of extra money. if we keep going at this rate, it will be happening for people in america to work in security. this is the same thing that bin laden said he would do to

destroy us, financially. and every time something happens like this, we find ways to spend more and more billions of dollars. and it's not going to stop it. and we need to learn why these people hate us, and it's because we are in these people's country. and we need stop this, this will get out of hand. we have lots of muslims here in the united states. host: thank you for calling us, our twitter address is twitter.com/cspanwj. this twitter, it's a huge problem for you. and even when you pack items,

a bomb appraisal unit had to exam a bag. we encourage passengers to think about what they are wearing that could cause a security incident. but preparing for security measures, the t.s.a. hasn't been vague about what added measures of security. passengers should be prepared but we can't say what they are. the stepped security will be most obvious for security checkpoints and those will be checked twice. melvin, what had your experience like? caller: i haven't had much experience but it's good. i had a couple of quick things, first of all these muslim

extremists that attacked us, short of converting to islam i don't think there is anything that would stop their hatred and attacks. and they say that the israelis have a good system on airport security, i don't know what they do. but we could emulate that. and what would be wrong with hiring ex-military and put them in charge of security? host: we have chris, the caller, have you been out to the airport lately? caller: no, i haven't but my nephew who lives in poland and travels frequently and just before this bombing incident happened. and he had the swiftest, uneventful travel to the united states he ever had. he kept calling us and saying,

i will be earlier and earlier than that. i would say that things were lax before the incident. and as a hint for travelers on july 4, 2004, i flew from new mexico and i had a friend in the embroidery business and he had given me a hat that was from the state of new mexico, and i had it on top of my bag, and when they saw that hat, they passed me right through. so show your support, have a flag on top of your bag and it may help. host: thank you this, is a picture of a son being searched in paris. the headline that goes with this story, says that pat down

searches are often ineffective. they are saying with the screening technology in airports, the last line of defense is the human hand, the pat-down search. and this is often ineffective because of government rules and covering where screeners can put their hands. as a result even the man trying to blowup the plane on christmas, had gotten an airport pat-down, it probably wouldn't have found the explosives hidden in his crotch. quote, you know where you are going to put it and no one is going to go there. baltimore sun story there, we have barbara on the line for democrats. caller: hello, good morning. i came in at 4:10 yesterday

afternoon from amsterdam. i was traveling amsterdam from nairobi where i left on the 31st. and the security from nairobi was as usual. with putting the hand luggage through an x-ray machine and walking through the x-ray. i was not patted down. the person i was traveling with who has knee replacement was patted down because they always set off the machine. but i would say security in nairobi was exactly as it always it. host: in amsterdam, what was different? caller: that was enormously different, first we were called earlier to the gate from the lounge. and every single piece of hand luggage was opened and examed.

after going through the normal x-ray bin and going through the x-ray machine. walking through the x-ray. but every single pieces of hand luggage, were opened and lots of questions were asked. what is this and that. and every camera case was opened and every mobile phone case was checked out. and it took a long, long time. every single passenger was patted down and thoroughly. host: let me ask, was it worth it? did you feel safer? anything should be done differently? caller: it's very hard to tell, it's really, really hard to tell. i doubt that something that would have been of great danger on the plane would have been found because those people

doing those things are quite clever and concealing whatever is being carried. and the rest of us are just carrying our normal change of underwear on long, long flights. so it's really difficult to tell. another thing that i did think was an upgrade of security. because of my friend's knee replacements, we were among those allowed to board the first. when we boarded there was already a couple of people in their seats. and especially the one that was quite close to the row where i was, looked like a very fit, young man. and i thought maybe he's an air marshal, the thought occurred to me. and he was helpful in putting my hand luggage up and down. i think that's an increase in security. because there was no reason he

would be on the plane boarding as an ordinary passenger. host: thank you barbara, and we have mary on the independent line. what is your experience at the airport? caller: yes, i am concerned that we are overextending and not providing a global security approach. this young man came here -- host: caller, that last caller flew from amsterdam and said quite the difference. what do you think? mary, you still there? let's move away from mary, i think she's busy doing something else. we lost the contact, wisconsin, patrick you on the line for

democrats. caller: hel -- hello, i think that airport security is where it needs to be if not higher. what happened over christmas break goes to show even from the 9/11 attacks we need the security because it can happen at any time and human life should come first. host: thank you and another twitter, as is our nature, americans overreact over everything, airport security, and putting that in quotes, gives people panic attacks. in the lead headline talking about how we look forward in washington, and a side bar piece, the delta c.e.o. says that danger is not tolerable, they have done their part, and

that passengers fear, and delta's chiefs are upset that the passengers onboard this flight 263 on christmas day, of the security measures. mr. anderson told in a recorded message that airports have done everything that the government has passed for passenger requirements and heightened security measures. and that should have brought forward more information and that delta request that washington do a better job. joe, republican, your airport experience, what was it like? caller: i was flying back from

istanbul. host: what were you doing in turkey? caller: i was visiting the oppression on a 60-minute special. so i went to the airport and it was a delta flight. i think it was -- i really didn't know anything about the attempted bombing. cause i was out -- i didn't watch tv or anything. and they told me there was a six-hour delay when i got there. i went in and they requested me for four hours. and they frisked everybody five times. host: they questioned you for four hours? caller: they questioned me for four hours. host: do you know if they questioned others? caller: i am not sure, but most

was about the christian orthodox ceremony, because that's what i was going there for. i am not sure, maybe they were trying to find out why i went. i don't know why they were questioning me. host: tell us more of what you encountered. caller: we all got searched five times before we got into the cabin. we got searched going into the duty-free area. then you know it looked like heightened security. a lot of people left the airport after a six-hour delay. i think that was set up with the new search measures. because it looked like they moved the machines in and replaced at the gates. so they had different stations set up throughout to get to the actual gate. and at the last one there was

three searchs after the physical searches of the bags. and then you go to another table and they do it again and again. xof this mean to you? caller: it meant that we can't go anywhere now because -- or maybe i should start an airline that is a nudist airline or something so we can all go on there nude or wear a muumuu or something like that. host: new york city, joe. in case you missed this story, the homeland security commissioner is going to meet, with senior officials at international airports to review security measures and screening technology for flights to the u.s.

secretary napoleon will go to airports in africa, asia and europe to follow up these measures. the exclusive of obama getting pre-christmas briefings of terrorist attempts to home land. this happens three days before christmas, and that the most senior officials were there. it was a session held in the situation room, the president was aware of the agencies involved, including homeland security and f.b.i. director and c.i. a. and they go on and on with other names here. and they said nowhere in the document that was put together by intelligence was there any mention of yemen whose al-qaeda

affiliate is believed to be behind this unsuccessful christmas attempt. they are calling this an exclusive today. sharon you are on the line for the democrats. caller: hi, my comment is that the last time i flew i called and i drink a lot of water. and i had a bottle of water and they said as long as it was sealed i could bring it on. but when i got there, i had to throw it out. and my whole thing is that you read that yemen wasn't even reported yet his own parents made the report. and my main issue is why is it now we have to pay an extra $20 to check our bag now? there is nothing in his bag, it was on his body. and i have seen your show before, we need more research and more tracking of what is

going on rather than hurry up and everybody check their baggage. well, you can still put something in the bag. it's not making sense to me, i don't think they have a clear plan. and they need to get a clear plan. and they need to tell the public what they need to do before the airport. host: thank you, and we have a comment that airport security is already personal and then the eyes and the questioning, and then they seal you up. a little strange. last call from ed on the independent line, what was your experience at the airport like? caller: i haven't had an experience at the airport and i was talking to an employee of the general aviation, and that we have airport three blocks

from a gas plant that's basically a bomb waiting to happen. that is two years from a nuclear plant and five miles from naval installation. something is wrong, and all of this security at the airport doesn't do much. thanks for c-span. host: thank you for checking in, stick around as we talk more about this country named yemen, and the growth of al-qaeda, our guest is christopher boucek of the carnegie endowment, be right back. coç

>> fox news contributor, michelle malkin is our guest this weekend, the blogger and author of four books, including the best selling book, "corruption," three hours with michelle malkin on book-tv. >> i think it's gone, you don't own it anywhere and you are trespassing and that hurts. my possessions are in a storage bin, what i got out and locked up. >> this week on "q & a," the

documentary on the impact of sub-prime mortgages on minorities. >> now available, c-span's book, abraham lincoln, the story of our 16th president, from 56 scholars and journalists and writers, on lincoln's early year, in hard cover at your favorite book seller and now in digital audio, available where those are sold. learn more at c-span.org/lincolnbook. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our guest is christopher boucek, and the topic is al-qaeda's presence in yemen. and we wake up to several headlines with yemen as part of

the headline, including this one in "financial times." they write that western governance for this month to encounter yemen recruitment base of terrorists of last week's failed attack. and that was called of the british prime minister, what do you think can happen globally? guest: this is important, we need this community to focus on yemen, there is not a regional solution to yemen' problems but need an international approach. host: let's take a step back, where is yemen and what are those conditions? guest: it's at the bottom of the peninsula next to saudia

arabia. they have problems that come together at the same time. they have a problem with the economy where they are quickly running out of money, and out of oil, and 80% of their income comes from oil. and they are running out of water, which is worse. it's estimated that the capital will be the first in history to run out of water and go dry. and the population is set to double in 20 years and they have poverty. and corruption and inflation, and then you have security challenges. the al-qaeda and having civil war in the north and obsession movement in the south. so all of these challenges are coming together and there is a fear this will overwhelm yemen. host: as far as al-qaeda, why

do they pick yemen to operate? guest: there are many reasons, because the government doesn't have control over all the country. and it's in these ungoverned sources that al-qaeda will seek safe refuge, and that's what is happening. host: the numbers are on the bottom of the screen, we are talking to christopher boucek about yemen and what is being done. how does yemen get on with its neighbors now? guest: yemen has well-developed relations with the gulf countries. with the relationship with saudia arabia is one that is recently become more difficult because of the security situation in yemen. i think that the saudi's look

at what is going in yemen and see this as a source of the problems in their country. there are a number of event that is took place in yemen that had a negative effect on saudia arabia with suicide attempts and there was an attack to the security chief. and the war in the north between the government and shiite rebels and has been going on for years and now the saudis are reactant. host: bring this to the u.s., what has the yemen government been doing with the u.s. to fight that activity? guest: the last couple of weeks we have seen a number of strikes against the targets. and this the yemen government and american government

cooperating. and this is important for the targeting and surveillance. while the yemen government was responsible for the military operations. there was a raid on the 17th of a raid in the south and arrest in the capital and operations outside of that area. and there was an air strike attempt and a house target on f.b.i. wanted list. this attack was believed to be a number of senior al-qaeda leaders, no recall of what happened. host: good morning to our caller. caller: it seems to me i can't believe my government about

terrorists or al-qaeda. i believe that ñhsal-qaeda is a c.i. a. operation and the boogeyman, i believe that my government is the number one terrorist on the planet. how many people have we murdered? and how many senior al-qaeda officials have we killed since 2001? time i turn the tv on and a group is talking about senior al-qaeda officials are killing. we don't know how many our government is killing and i wouldn't trust them. host: thanks. guest: when we look at yemen, and al-qaeda has targeted american citizens a number of times. sailors that were attacked and the american embassy was attacked twice last year.

there is a danger and threat from yemen of american interest for sure. host: put this in broader context and u.s. is supporting the effort of yemen to fight the folks there. and iraq and afghanistan, put it in the broader context of the broader wars and the fight against terror. guest: sure, an important thoing keep in mind, the conditions in yemen are right for things to go bad quickly. as things improve in pakistan and iraq, we see that yemen is more important. when you talk to many, yemen is an authority and second to pakistan. it's important and has the conditions right for greater al-qaeda threat and threat to allied interests and policy

interests. host: we found in headlines that increase of security aid to yemen, and the commissioner gave 78 million and is that enough to do the job? guest: i think what you pump in, they will spend. pakistan is the first priority, they get over $1 billion a year, and this is the military system, the humanitarian is probably $20 million, and no, it's not enough. and the underlining causes are not addressed. this funding is to fight terrorism or improve the border

guards, and yemen is not doomed by al-qaeda, it's the other things, the economy, population growth and employment, these long-term issues. host: what is the population? guest: it's 22 million and in one decade it will be 40. and not all will be supported by yemen, there is not enough drinking water. host: what does that mean for the future of the country? guest: it means they will have to present severe water scenarios or for them to move where the water is. host: we have our caller, good morning. caller: good morning, i was wondering if you figure out

what the muslim religion causes these people to be al-qaeda people? host: what do you think? guest: this is a great point that we don't understand well. at the heart of al-qaeda as a movement and idea, it's a very moralistic movement. and that may sound odd to a western audience. these are individuals who think they are trying to do good. and they believe that their obligation to do right and stop wrong in their own lives, but to do it in everyone else's lives. it's important to understand the motivation why people are doing this. this is only one, but there is a whole range. host: how many do you believe is involved here that the government with the u.s. help is fighting now? guest: that's a good question, you read in the papers from 100

to 300, if you were to speak to security officials they would say they are worried about hundreds of al-qaeda cells or operatives. and that may not sound like much, but these are small organizations and those are the combatants. the support and logistics and sympathies are larger. host: do you fear a lot more folks, the growth in this group of 300 based on the economic conditions, we read so much about those two connections. guest: absolutely, i think in why you men -- yemen there is a large recruitment pool, you could recruit people to go to afghanistan and iraq, i think there are diseffected unemployed men that are ready to be recruited in any organization. and the counterterrorism and

funding and operations, in addition to the funding going up, i am sure there are more counterterrorism operations, and this will feed into the grievances of al-qaeda. host: back to the callers, mary from new jersey. caller: good morning, and happy new year. if mr. boucek could comment on two points. i find it that saudi arabia that has contributed to troops around the world and is having such difficulty facing them. i have a suggestion that the saudi's wouldn't like but why don't they absorb yemen, they are there geographically. and this movement in the south,

i have understand that has been going on for years, and read that it settled a number of years ago but never implemented, could you comment. guest: first the role of saudi arabia, they are the biggest player in yemen, and lots of money goes from saudi into yemen in different ways. i think that the saudis realized that once violence came home in 2003, that things couldn't continue. and we have seen since then major efforts to fight terrorism, domestically and trying to abroad. and when you look at how different countries are fighting al-qaeda, saudi arabia has made incredible steps of eliminating the threat within its borders. and now despite the fact that

they have fought al-qaeda domestically, they have come back to plot and plan. on the separate issue, the two yemens were joined in 1994, and the issues at stake and drove the civil war that drove this discontent now is yet to be settled. the south feels they didn't get the economic development they should, and south believes there is a big pot of money some place they should get more. and there are other blocked opportunities and a fear of perception that the northern government excluded the south. and if you want to get things done in the south, you need northern networks. they feel they have gotten the short end the stick, and when the war dies down, the issues

in the south will flare up again. host: a piece in the "washington times", they point out that the yemen summit has strong support from the u.s. and european union, and the u.k. hopes to secure the backing of saudia arabia, and you think that saudi arabia will want to take part in this meeting? guest: absolutely, they are active and in the issue of counterterrorism, the saudis feel they are jeapordized by what is going on in yemen. and they want to improve the situation in yemen. there are a number of saudi terrorists that have run away to yemen, and they want these guys back. host: do you see a situation where saudi troops, other troops from the region and u.s. troops are in yemen at some

point? guest: i can't think that anyone would think that would be a good idea. a military presence or soldiers on the ground is the last thing you would want to do in a place like yemen. and while the saudis are involved in the border squirmish, it's to keep the problems in yemen. host: we have our caller speaking with christopher boucek. caller: good morning, i am not involved in any endowment, but if there was not one drop of oil in the mid east, and if the united states did not arm and aid israel in their war, we probably would not have suffered 9/11. we are becoming too big of an

empire in my estimation. you go back in history, and the roman empire got so big and couldn't finance it and they failed. i think we poke our nose in every place we can. host: role and action of the u.s., what is your take? guest: i think the united states has a huge role in all of this. and unfortunately american foreign policy feeds into a lot of regions. that's discussed by a lot of people. regardless of what is going on, and we see that yemen is a country in crisis. and while it's not a failed state, it can fall apart quickly. and because there are enduring american security and foreign policy at stake, the international community needs to be active in trying to

offset these things because we know what is going down the road. host: our guest has a phd from the university of london, previously christopher boucek was editor at the james publishing group. and they do similar issues and currently an associate for the carnegie endowment peace. we have carroll, hello. caller: hello, first of all keep in mind what george washington warned of getting entangled in foreign governments. you should have at the university and get start from the basis of ben stein owns paul an apology of saying

something antisemantic. and he didn't say that because he said they were occupying their country and angry, and rightfully so. and the oppression in palestinians and you have to go on press tv and that motivated 9/11, there is proof on the commission report on page 197, obama should be in war court because of war crimes, like george bush. guest: i i -- don't know of that basis of entangled. that's not how i would phrase it. in the middle east these problems are going on and at

yemen they are going on at same time. as an oil producer, they have yemen targets and ships and u.s. embassy. i think that american interest and american personnel have been the victims of violence in and from yemen. and this is something we need to deal with. not just for american interest but global commerce, depending on the u.s. petroleum. host: speaking of their capital, how many people live here and what are the conditions like? guest: this is the major city in yemen, one of several major areas, and one thing about sama, there is no central water system, when you turn on your taps, it's not through pipes in

the city, you pay for water to be trucked into your house and delivered. and one problem as yemen runs out of water, the water prices will go up more and more. the water they are drawing is fossil water in a number of places. this will never be replenished. and as the water levels are lower, it's harder to get out of the ground and the quality is worse. sama is a beautiful city, an old historic city. as more people move to the cities, these resources are drained more and more. one thing to keep in mind is how yemen will manage these issues. 80% of the conflict in yemen is caused over access to water. and we know that water causes lots of conflicts in other parts of the world. host: one message by twitter says that most suiciders have

been from wealthy backgrounds, and poverty they make the point is not involved in all of this. what do you think? guest: i think that's true, a lot of people tried to argue that poverty lead to terrorist and violence, and it's not shown. we see that people that get involved in islamic militanty comel from educated backgrounds. and the other issues, you can't get a job and who is incharge. there is a difference of suicide bomber as to general chaos. and as the government's authority in yemen, and not just yemen but other places f -- if the government does not

have the capacity to do these things, other the will step forward and that we need to be concerned about. host: next caller, you are on the line. caller: hi, my question is that i think there is a basic understatement about this being a terrorism. and using the word of terrorism, does it come in the mind of using that word or [inaudible] is kind of giving them and underestimating you. and i didn't [inaudible] in a way they are -- they think they are not terrorizing and in a full-out war, and what separates that from being a full-out war and being an ideal privatized areas. host: thanks caller, did you

grab all of that? guest: i think that the caller is asking about terrorists if they believe they are terrorizing or doing something else. something about a western audience to get your mind around, there is a motivation for people trying to do something good and moral. and it's their job to improve their world, and many are using violence and they have made exceptions why this is ok. and eight years after september 11, we are still at grips to understand why people do this. host: san diego, greg is our caller. good morning. caller: good morning and a happy new year. historically hasn't yemen been perhaps the most radical arab country since it gained

independence from great britain? isn't it the birthplace of osama bin laden to begin with. and hasn't it been the most arab of the arab countries, even during the cold war, didn't it have a markist regime that was very anti-american and how does that play into the current situation there? is the government still anti-western or making peace with the west or? host: the background and history of the country. guest: yes, yemen has a republican government and arab nationalist republican government. i don't know what measure you have as to who is the most radical in the middle east. they are pro-american and has been cooperative with the

united states on counter terrorism. north yemen was a religious government and south yemen was markist fate and when those governments disappeared, the two came together. and the south may have been aligned with the soviets in the cold war, united yemen has been a pro-western state. the issue in palestine is still strong and contentious in yemen. and in terms of most arabs of the arab states. egypt would think they were out in front on these issues. for a lot of yemen's history, i think that yemen has not been a very coherent country.

it's only unified as we know it now for 20 years. when we are talking about yemen's role in all of this whether it's terrorism or radicalization as a failed state or crisis state. something we need to keep in mind it's still very new. and yemen has never been ruled as one coherent entity, it's a work in place. host: as we look at this photo, tell us about the head of government, who is he and what has he been saying about al-qaeda, the activity and the fight? guest: president sala has ruled yemen since it was unified and before that. and against all the criticism, the president has maintained things and keeping it together.

and keeping yemen together hasn't proved to be an easy task. after september 11, he came to washington regarding this. and there was initial cooperation of fighting al-qaeda. one of the things that more recently president sala has tried to maintain all competing interest inside yemen. whether tribal or islamic or others. . .

>> that's a process that will be starting and ongoing. host: caller from florida. you are on the democratic line. what's on your mind this

morning? caller: this cannot be solved unless muslims themselves solve it. host: anything else? caller: islam itself tells people to be converted. muslims themselves have to solve the problem. host: any thoughts there? guest: yemen will make serious efforts to deal with these issues. it's not just al qaeda but coming up with waste economy and coming up with public service and healthcare and stopping spending so much war

yemin will always be provided with foreign aid. we need to ramp up the support

to deal with that fact. host: a report says somali rebels will send their fighters. wherever jihad beckoned. what does this mean? in the sfeer of smuggling. all these issues are very poorly understood yemen is the

only country in the world where immigrants get instance status most of the media support with somalia taking over the ships. it will be key to figuring out how do deal with this in the future. host: from florida. you are on the air. caller: i worked in yemen in 1986-1987. it is a lawless country composed had little tiny villages all over the countier. it's a poor country.

host: what kind of work did do there? >> i was the director of a saudi hospital. >> what do you think that the future lies there? caller: it was very poor and it has goten worse 40% of the people are unemployed the

situation is extremely difficult. there's a lot of tribal rivalry in this country. it's a large country geographically, the transportation communication are almost non-exist ant. the action directed, what should the approach be. the aid we are going to providing the country i don't see will help very much at all. we will not solve yes , ebben's problems.

>> there are so much settlements in yemen. the central government would need all of these over and over again. they don't have the capacity to do that. they have the capacity to deal with one or two at a time. they are not dealing with education or water in this point, i have heard from a lot of people. an administration special we have seen before. doing nothing is not an option. looking at how bad failed states can get. the cost of the action is too great. we need to step up and act.

>> the u.s. was trying to keep a low profile. i was wandering if your guest could comment on weather that's true or not. >> the events of the past couple of weeks, yemen was not in the news. now they are interested because of al qaeda and terror.

the things the utes has been starting to do is train and ee equip and do these things themselves. it's important. there was a yemen face on all of this. >> when it came up to the american business, this became incredibly unpopular pick owl

the yemen government itself. much of the military has either fought or will be fighting in this little war. >> the government is focused on this war. it is very telling that there's this concern that the longer the yemens are fighting this war, the weaker they look to other people what they need to

do is stop this war. this war is having a disasterous affect on the economy in yemen. >> a couple more calls for our guest. you are on the democratic line. caller: i have a big problem with america. america stuck karzai in there. then bin lad an was fighting russia and afghanistan for america. that's what drove him to be anti-american.

>> more there from houston. dorothy on the republican line. >> my question is, it's wonderful we go over and help all of these countries with the issues they have. we obviously have the power and the financial able >> yemen presents a unique sense of challenges. there are a lot of countries like yemen around the world. places where we see central government authority slowly receding and weakening.

if it is terrorism or drug smulling, the international community needs to see how to figure out more and more all of this crisis. >> our guest has been an associate with the middle east program. thank you for the update on yemen this morning. >> take another short break and we'll turn to the topic of mental health in america more of your calls. we'll be right back.

>> top prize, $5,000. create a 5-8 minute video about our country's strength. it musten corporate c-span programming. enter before midnight january 20. don't wait another minute. go to studentcam .org for information. host: first time guest to washington journal, dr. david shern, we understand pretty significant federal laws taking affect this week. guest: we have been working many years to get this bill passed.

there's a wide range of problems. 8% any given year. a dicks are also very common with alcohol abuse and addiction being among the most common it's a wide range of widely diagnoseable and treatable conditions. exactly, what does this new law do >> treatment administrations.

whatever standards are used to determine medical identity and treatments. >> for an individual who thinks they have a problem, what does this mean for them? >> it means that they will have to pay no more and will experience no greater than if they were going for a medical treatment. prior to that, they had a 50% co-pay. many plans now have a 10% co-pay. so you would have to pay $10.

the topic is mental health par owe di. we are talking about a new law taking effect. you mention 12 years of pursuing this. joot original law was championed it's interesting that we have republican lines and democrat lines. this is true. paul wilston was among the most liberal. both have family members. they have first-hand experience

about what mental health coverage does. speak more to that fight and battle. how did it play out. we had some bad data. that estimated the bariers would be overutilized.

that opposed equity and treatment. we entered an era of managed care. there isn't this command that is sensitive to price. that data helped a lot to even the playing field and thent bill had a series comprimises. the fact that mental health services would mandate the community. that data now were compelling.

>> i think a class of people with a particular disorder have historically been discriminated against in terms of their ability to access the services they need to get better and back into their life. host: our first call from illinois. on the republican line. good morning. caller: thank you. my question would be that it seems to be that the psychiatric community will always lean towards medicating people instead of treating the

root cause of the mental disorders such as by polar depression. thank you. host: medicine versus therapy and other types of treatment. how does the bill address all of this? the culler brings up a certain point. that's the use of medications. there's very good data that shows how effective this can be.

>> if they are as effective and even resulting in the same changes of brain functioning medicines are effective for many, many people. >> is one more effective or popular than the other? >> the data seems to indicate that for many disorders, the best strategy is one that involves both psycho therapy

the medication is often the most effective strategy. the classification of the drugs refers to the fact that these drugs help with seratonin, which is the key brain function involved it makes it less expensive. host: in florida on the line. good morning. guest: good morning. when these medical insurance companies write up their little contracts. they always put larger

discount. you got to pay more, if you feel you are being discriminated against because of a mental illness, who do you complain to? my second comment is we shift the attack. i am tired of paying for these countries that hate us. that should all be eliminated with this new bill. there is going to be a start up period >> what i would ask that you do, if you are having any problems like the renewal of

your health plan, go to our website let us know about it. we are starting to document any problems with this law. we'll be able to help get these channels in the government to make sure these practices stop. the bill actually includes serious penalties for insurers who fail to enact this legislation properly. >> we have been talking and hearing about the broader administration. are people aware of this law? this new bill? >> we have done everything that we can. the various organizations that represent principally people that have addictive disorders.

we are going to continue getting the word out. from california, on the independent line. caller: good morning. i'm a crisis line worker. i have a couple of questions for you and the comment. the comment is that i have some real concern over family practice people being skilled enough one question.

i understand medicare is restrict frd this new law. is that true? if an employer chooses not to cover mental health at all, there is nothing the employer can do. >> like i mentioned, there's no mandate how this be covered. if the employer chooses not to cover it. this law will not be helped.

it is in everyone's interest that these services be covered if primary care physicians are the most likely people to treat depression it would require insurance companies medicare

has historically discriminated against mental health services we managed to get the co-pay requirement services removed. it was difficult to have any changes to the law we conditioned to work on getting things like the lifetime limit for medicare. the family physician medication is the bet one.

they should inform the person that they take a while to work. someone gets discouraged in two weeks. the medication will not have taken affect yet. we should try to have as many portals into treatment as possible. she got a lot of questions in that one call.

hi, sue. >> i have a question, a little bit different. i want to know how to get something corrected. >> i was in a serious accident in 1985. i damaged my ankle and optic nerve. the doctor wrote me up as being skits friend yick. for years, i had to go through torture of mental health therapy. how do i get that changed. i think family doctors jump too quickly into thinking that people have serious problems when they don't. the patient really has no say

so. >> i'm sorry to hear about your accident and the ongoing problem. >> i have a good friend that has a problem with the inner ear. you own your medical report. you have every right and full access to it. if you disagree with a diagnosis, i recommend you change physicians if you don't feel you are getting the care that you need i would ask that you try to switch physicians to get someone who better understands and responds to your situation.

twitter question for you. will this, this will cause insurance rates to rise. has your group estimated how much. >> this was a major concern in terms of getting this legislation passed.

one of the owners of houston texas ans who himself has severe depression. had he wanted to do an addition to the policy, they said that's going to cost a 25% increase. the actual increase was zero. it didn't cost them anymore. that has been removed from the table. about 40 states have bills that they enact. the one we passed in 2008. the federal government was inactive in this area. states took the lead. they varried a lot. about 40en ended up having the

legislation. let's talk about california. the keast associated and they point out that most health plans responded by lifting the limits and annual number of days allowed for out patient treatment. >> california is an extraordinary place in many ways. california's experience there should parallel what we should see in other states california

passed a few years ago something called proposition 63, which established an identified trust fund for mental health services in the state. if the right kind of technology are implemented. california is leading the nation in terms of trying to get some of those technologies into play. host: kansas, mississippi. good morning to you. caller: i'm a mental health

professional. i work in the department of corrections we have traumatic brain injured. it gives people their life back. all of these people were self medicated because of their mental illness we do it with an incredible team approach. the question i have.

>> have you ever looked at the mentally ill in prison. it costs ten times as much to incarcerate as to treat. thank you. >> that's a great call. what we've done is largely closed our state hospital system. in the 50's, we had about half a million people. we now have about 320,000 people in the united states inscars rated in prison who have severe mental illnesses. we incarcerate at higher rates and we have criminalized severe mental illness. it's even clearer. as the caller mentioned, it's not n likely people have both. we predict the next great

institutional will be the institutions. to not reply cailt the problems , it's really important that we do this job right. the caller turns on an important point about our ability to get people back into their life. we will implement the science based therapy that's we have. a great call. important issue. >> this has no direct appropriations associated with it at all. this is really to correct and shore up the discrimination in terms of these services. it doesn't have additional

resources. put this in the broader healthcare debate that we have been having in this country. is there a connection between the two? >> we are so fortunate to have gotten the bill passed before we enter this discussion to work on healthcare reform. a couple facts, the major driver of healthcare expenditures areon yick illnesses. 75% are caused by the treatment of chronic illnesses. mental health and substances occur. the average age at which that occurs 14. these are really disorders had adolescence. they are under recognized. in part because of insurance discrimination. they result in long term

disability. in the united states, world health organization estimate that's all disability related to illness is associated to mental health illness. it gives you a sense. if we are going to control healthcare cost and improve the status in the country, which is some of the major goals, we cannot do it unless we effectively identify, treat and prevent mental health and substance abuse conditions. we are lucky. i recall reaching on c-span, the senate finance committee was debating. the vote wrs almost all strictly down party lines. very partisan votes until the senator from michigan introduced the amendment to

include mental edge with other conditions. even won that highly partisan debate, this was adopted by the committee and characterized as a no brainer in terms of what we needed to do. so they are central, we have to treat these conditions. there's clear support for it. our hope and desire is that we start to do the job of healthcare right. we have to treat mental health and substance abuse effectively. host: tyler, texas. on the ind end line.

as i understand it, psychology and psychiatry is a relatively new science. i think a lot of the uses like he had before. a lot of the side effects. every time you turn on a commercial, you talk about how medicines can cause heart problems and other things and then our health insurance won't cover those other things. it's like a vicious cycle. it seems like a lot could be used to help people through their problems. another thing is hypnosis and the working of the subconscious

mind. a lot of uses could be other things even chemical imbalances. a lot of things could be better addressed through hypnosis there is almost no way to insure tutionalize. you go to school and giveous medications. i have some mental illness in my family. my aunt, she has as a result tremors from her medication. host: let's get a response from our guest. caller: there's a number of really important issues the caller brings up. it is important to note that there are a wide range of effective treatments for many

of the mental disorders. something our organization is committed to is general public education so that people can avail themselves of the variety of the sources that are available. as i said irlier, medications have been god sent to many people but not everyone. the caller is right in that any medication can benefit. they have side effects for every individual, it is a matter of balancinging the side effects associated with it. one works with a care giver in a way to maximize that cost benefit at a personal level. this should be a decision made by an individual with their physician. i'm sorry that your aunt has

had problems. like in any disease group. there are people that have a lot of difficulty responding. we need better treatments. we need to access the care that we know works today. >> you mentioned medicine. is it prescribed largely by general practitioners. psychology, sikery is generally a new field. guest: progressively, they are getting better support to do that. we rely on primary care physicians to do a lot of work and manage a broud range of illnesses

>> it had access to and a treatment in full range. the caller brought up several important points. we could certainlyly do a better job. i'm also not sure that psychology and psychiatry are any newer in a sense than other areas of medicine. this is our 100 anniversary. i have been looking into our history. interestingly, the same year of the naacp getting back to the civil rights thing. we have been working on these issues for some time and made some dramatic progress.

historically, we considered these conditions different. we are passed that now. this law takes an important step. >> let's hear from delaware. good morning. caller: i'm a first time caller and i'm a little nervous. host: take your time. caller: dr. doctor, thank you for the work you are doing. i became a mental health patient since 1996. i was on a drawing that doubled my weight in one year. i was wandering what your

opinion is of people like tom cruise that go on national tv and warn against damages that can be done with psychiatric medicine? host: guest: i'm sorry you had that experience. one of the issues with a class of drugs is that many of them affect your system and metabolism. weight gain has to be aggressively managed.

systematic surveys and not relying on the care. manufacture us were very surprised to learn that the results of that survey showed that the united states, of the 14 quoirnts surveyed has the highest rate of mental illness

of any of those 14 countries. there's been a special study done looking at people who immigrate from mexico to the united states. over a 13 year period, their rate rises to meet ours. the treatment issues around the world people diagnosed in

developing countries do better than those in developed nations it's more difficult to marginalize labor they can

continue to receive a methodest income report. we actually have kept people. our recovery rates are lower than those. host: minneapolis, thank you for waiting. good morning. could you speak to what the implications are to folk that's are uninsured. this should i am pact this in

some way. it is core to the issue. we are hoping that as we move to universal coverage, people will have access early on before they become disabled. another problem with homelessness is poverty. i don't know how the current economic session affected this. people that become bank rup and loose their home can ultimately remain homeless. if we can make some major repairs to health insurance system in this country.

mental health services are identified explicitly in the health insurance program. adopting the law. how this plays out in terms of the insurance exchanges which is where many people like the homeless persons you are working with might receive their care is yet to be determined. we are watching that very carefully. it gets into technical aspects that we want to get into or speculate here. clearly the spirit of this law is that people have access to mental health and substance abuse or services.

we are going to work as hard as we can. caller: i could spend a day talking to you about these issues. i came out of six months of treatment facility. what i've seen is a lot of people pushing and not identifying ordealing with a lot of the mental health issues. i have been going to substance abuse counselors that are really one step above an aa counselor. to me, having a healthy

alliance with a therapist is incredibly important. i don't see it happening enough. >> have a good day. our overall status turning our page now to get the whole person. we pressure time this morning. host: we have an hour left. we take a look at dupont circle. we'll let you know our next

guess is a former dc city councilman. be right back.

>> after a while, you've lost it. you don't own it anymore. you are trespassing. that hurts. my possessions are now in "storage bin. >> this week, american casino. an award winning documentry on the impact of subprime mortgages on minorities. sunday night at 8:00. >> now available c-span's book on abraham lincoln. now in digital audio available where digital audio is sold.

>> the former dc city council. in healthcare and afghanistan. where is this falling in the pecking order and does it concern you. here in the district of columbia, i have major concerns about the scholarship program.

how did it start? what is happening to it right now. >> back in 2003 a third of the money went to dc charter schools and a third for this unique scholarship program it's been a successful program.

when it came up for reauthorization, the obama administration did not support it. >> why? >> it is politics. the scholarship program doesn't like vow chers. they sent an all outletter. key members and democrats on the hill didn't like it. it flies in the face of many when the chairman of council show 75% of the dc resident support it. i'm of the mind if we are going to suppose whatever works that we support the package in the city. now at the center for education reform. give us a call.

speak more to us about school choice and why you think it's so important. caller: we are at the point where we had a one size fits all a approach for the last 50 years. everyone takes courses at the same time. we know that doesn't work for every child. just like every individual is different. their approaches to different learning modalities works. that's why we have seen an explosion of charter schools and trade schools. the center piece is to make sure parents are aware of these different educational approaches that they can access and taylor for the benefit of their children. that's what we have done here in the district.

we have a prolive yick charter school movement. we might have parents with three or four kid was a kid in private, charter and traditional. they make sure they fit the education to what works for their individual child. i think parental choice is the center peas for all of that. this idea to force everyone to put the same widthities in the same box and same assembly line doesn't work. they are not going to push this race in the top. good morning. i appreciate you bringing this up. i think the poorest people that have been -- the ones that have been

punished the most have been the minority community i was shocked to hear president obama was doing away with this program. i think every minority, every black leader should be bringing this up and talk about it more so people are aware that they did away with a program that is helping out the program. >> i am ashamed to be in it. i wrote a piece in the waubwovep a couple weeks ago.

no doubt that 20 years ago community organizers would be standing with the parents he understood the plight of those families and that their hopes and dreams are wrapped around getting their kids educated. there's no doubt in my mind that if this program presented, he would be with them. the problem is even though he has said and many democrats say support what works. the politics have gotten in the way. as much as i support the president, i think if this is something where we are going to make sure we educate all americans, we need to depolitic size it. we need to support it. i understand the frustration i understand that people want to put the adult issues out there

like what about the benefits and what we have done in the past >> what about what the democrats say. you know what i think about? virginia from washington, d.c. whose child benefited i think about all these families and kids. you hear these kids talk about if they hadn't had an opportunity to go to school. now they have to go back to schools where 80% of the kids are failing. it is shameful. i do believe that if community organized obama would talk to president obama, he'd tell him to support the program. host: welcome. good morning.

caller: good morning. duncan had his problems here in chicago. these people adopt the republican manta that we can't fix anything. since we can't fix it, let's privatize it. i do not want my tax money going to these people. i'm paying my property taxes it should go to the public schools why can't you fix the public schools that's what we were supposed to do. i don't want my tax money going to anybody supposed to making a profit. especially these religious private schools. don't tell me that the public school cannot be fixed. they can if you really wanted to fix them. >> these people are our people. i understand this idea that you

don't want to send public money to private schools but if you are on a life boat and it is sinking. you have an opportunity to save 15 of the 20, do you what you can while you still fix the boat. all these opportunities go to support individuals in private schools we had these notions of public dollars supporting private schools i'm at the

point where we are losing too many kids of color waiting for the system to right itself i support all the efforts of people like joe klein and sheryl reed trying to fix major school districts. we shouldn't have to wait three, four, five years for the reform plan to kick in. i understand people have deep rooted feelings about this. i am concerned about one thing. what will educate a child today. that's where we should be focused >> several education headlines close to home. the dc school chancellor pledges the hurt. basically says it is not going to effect the quality of education. >> i think michelle reed has done a terrific job.

she's right. i read something not long ago. in this tough economy, one area where cuts aren't being played out in legislation. i hope we taylor our education dollars to a reform and not preservation of the status quo. host: talking about a average college prep program. a bunch of african american young men learning to tie their neck ties. guest: by the way, that's a nice tie you are wearing. it speaks to my point about not having this one size fits all mind set. have you the different ways to reach to kids to invigorate

their excitement of learning. can you explain to me why the children in fifth grade are not taught penmanship. i have a grandson in college. he does notify how to write. everything is on the computer. where are they going to learn penmanship. i don't understand this. guest: i don't know that. i do know that sometimes we have to go back to the future.

a lot of leaders are starting to go back to the basics. they've taken away a lot of the new approaches that were expiremental. they really want to make sure they stick to the basics. we do need to make sure that our children are able to stick to the basics and do them well. new orleans on the line. >> caller, turn our sound off. >> can you hear me? there's no one fix ol. i went to a chatholic school and public school. i was so shocked when i went to the public school that i went back to the chatholic school.

education has to start within the community. you have to put money in the communities to help the grandmothers and mothers uneducated they are just living by mother witness or survival. really about survival in the black community and why after all these years we are still fighting the education system. that's one of the problems you have to fix. we do put a lot on our schools and teachers because of some of the disfunction and challenges i do think the people who are concerned need to get involved. most people aren't involved unless they have kids in school. this is an area where you need to get involved.

you need to be at your local school and in your typical association and do what you can to involve yourself in mentoring program. this is an area where it does take a village. we need to wrap our arms around kid that's come from challenged backgrounds. this is going to be for the better ment down the road. the president flt d.c. civic association. >> let me be clear. i and others who open ose the school vouchers and do not

believe this has been a successful reformer. i'm not a proponent of the system. it's almost contradictory to support the vouchers. d.c. public schools are in a downward spiral. on the other hand, they are doing a great job. i agree with braub and secretary of education the voucher program is bad public policy. put out by organizations that support the interest in

vouchers. i as a parent have a duty and responsibility to seek the best possibility education for my child. i make no apology for my son attending a private school that i do not ask the federal government to pay. as a citizen, i have the ability to advocate for the best public education for all public schools and i do. this isn't a ground swell of public support for the voucher program. our delegates to the north are not supporters.

this program doing a little bit of back checking was impossed from the district by the congress years ago without coming from the district. you initiated a support to oppose the imposition of this voucher program. let me jump in and get a response to what you just said. >> thank you. you are dead wrong about many things. this program has not impossed on the residents of the district of columbia we talked about the federal government and that's how these programs panned out.

i was in the room. you were not our delegate does not. she's the only who doesn't the family support it. i'm glad you and i both have the ability to send our children to private schools but what about some of those families who are trapped in schools where 80% of the kids are failing? these aren't made up statistics. these are real facts. it is a fact that in d.c., i represent a lot of residents. some of our schools have as many as 80-85% of the kids failing. for those kids, this has been a lifeline. that's why it makes sense to keep it going. what kevin omits to state is

that residents already voted on this issue. they have voted against it. our foe quss should be on improving and reinvigorating the public schools with a better occuric lum rather than coming up with the idea of using choice as a means to destroy public education. all choices do not common the government dollar. if this voucher program was so grathe great, why is it that proponents don't push it where they are? congressman burgess is enjoying it in the 26th district of texas. john boehner is a enjoying it in the eighth district of ohio. we need to be honest and truthful.

this program has not been proven to raise the academic level of the participating students to the degree resent studies show clear advancement in reading. i've been there. i'm proud of my record. i made sure dhs public schools got more money than ever, teachers got the highest pay while i was there. i'm to the point now where i look at the cheal evenings and deficits with children of color.

in some areas. 80% of the black boys drop out. in our city, in seventh grade, 70% of our black boys aren't reading at grade level and can't produce math at grade level. i'm really talking about throwing a lifeline out to all we can. to me, it's not a policy debate. i'm talking about the role of educationing these kids. that's what i support. host: randall here on the dracks line. you are on now. good morning. caller: this is worth waiting for. overall, i like what he's saying. i don't like the way city

council tries to force these things on us. our education system in the district has a good example. instead of trying to reply kate what has been around 20 years, he cose to send money out to a private entity. the other thing is to parents. no matter what programs you are with, you are throwing money away. i don't know how you can rally all those parents to be involved with your children. this plan was put together by

the federal city council when tried to pub lizz ice private schools and it was rejected. i don't like these people reaching back into the government to push the policies that they want parents overall do not want. i pressure perspective but it is wrong. you are talking about parent satisfaction. it said it encouraged over 80%.

you had low income parents who while their kids were trapped and failing, they get a scholarship to some of these private schools. what we are seeing -- i know these parents. some start to get their own education. it is almost like the whole family was impacted by this new approach to education. i understand people can attack me and the republican party and the idea of what is best for the teacher union. in education, there's not one silver bullet.

one caller writes we are poored more than enough money into a failing system. >> what do you think that person means. guest: you can sense this call from the caller. when you talk about the republicans opposing and federal government opposing something. you are adopting other people's point of view. i think in this new diverse world and global economy, we have got to find ways to expose our kids to as much as possible. yes, we have to preserve our global heritage. we have to make sure that they are not stuck in one miopic narrow education approach. if we do that, they will not be successful. host: on the republican line. caller: i have some concerns in

the race to the top funds in the federal funding that there's such a push on charter schools. we've seen many charter schools that don't necesarily work any better than the public schools. there is some shady companies i would have to say that are trying to set up charter schools. i would ask the head of the center for education reform used to serve on the board of imagine schools but a importantly no longer does. i wonder if she had a problem with imagine schools creating puppet charter boards. guest: i can't speak to that. can i say in terms of charter schools that aren't working, we should shut them down. quality is the buzz word f. a good school, is a good school, it should stay open.

if it is a bad school, it should close. i don't care if it is charter, traditional public or private. this is a zero sum game wefment do what works for kids and we are pure about that. if it doesn't work, we don't support it. talking about people, policies and parents. people meaning teachers. we need policies driven by data. he mentions a top program. congress should make it an annual program.

welcome. caller: i think it ought to go back to the local school district. they need to get back into electronic technology and parents ought to be able to choose which school for their children. it ought to be left up to the parent and local school district and the state. guest: some of what he said i agree with. local leaders as well. one of the reasons why they aren't, if their kids are involved.

i think it would serve all of our interest to be more involved and engaged. let's check the politics at the door. >> former dc city councilman. thank you. we'll take another short break and round out the program with about a 25 minute discussion with the tone of debate. the president is coming back into town from vacation. congress will be back shortly. as the president prepares for his second year in office, how has the tone here in washington changed. we'll get your opinion when we are right back. gpq=t%bc

>> it really sinks it. it's gone. you don't own it anymore. that hurts.

>> as we've said with the holiday season coming to an end in washington about to get very busey with various issues. we thought we'd ask you about the tone of debate in washington. has president obama increased the tone of debate. what are your thoughts about his first year in office. below are the numbers to call.

>> i know we haven't agreed on air crew issues so far. there's surely time in the future we will part ways. i know every american sitting here tonight loves this country and wants it to succeed. i know that. >> that must be the starting point for every debate we have in the coming months.

where we return after those debates are done. that is the foundation on which the american people expect us to build common ground. host: we'll show you the philadelphia inquirer lead editoral asking can we talk? americans already know a lot about the new year that has be gun. though know their soldiers are fighting two wars. more families will loose jobs and homes before they let go. partisan sniping will grow more intense. they go on and on about what americans know. they also say what americans don't know is how they will respond to each of these challenges. they can expect them.

the title is can we talk. caller: republicans are fools, democrats are fools. together we have a one party democritian. host: from florida. you are on the line. caller: i am very informed administrators are not listening to the people. they are not listening to the polls how how we do not want

the healthcare plan. if you don't think folks are listening, why do you think that? >> why do i think that? >> they have rahmed this healthcare plan through in a very partisan fashion. they have not listened to the challenges brout up. it is the democrats way or the highway. host: what do you think. has president obama changed the tone of washington? caller: i believe there is a lot different from a year ago.

president obama is trying his best to brig dignity and respect back to the country. i believe healthcare should be provided to everyone. we are paying for people to have medicaid, med i care. we host: we look at the flag on top of the capitol there. the house and senate will finish up their break and get back to work. we are now reading on hearings of the attempted bombing of the plane. they'll get back to a full schedule soon in january. there will be a state of the

union speech at some point. we know the president is coming back from vacation in hawaii. caller: it's not going to change. the other morning bill had a question about congress. they got sent to washington. if they do not do their job, we can haul their butts back to putting another man in their place.

it is sickening. i watched the healthcare die bait. i know why it said they take ten lawyers to figure it out. my sister is a legal secretary. she said that was the biggest bunch of garbage she heard on television. host: thank you for calling. suggesting americans should dedicate the new year to dialing down the shouting and actually listen 0ing to each other. even the common purpose one

might expect with finger pointing. today it is 2010. be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. host: good morning and happy new year. caller: i think the president would like to but my experience has told me that the country is over the water fall now. the republican party is rich and poor. getting a bunch of people mad at the president and mad at congress so that they can get into power and continue the way

things were. for bush. the democrats for the most part are supportive of labor. the very poor. the very poor tend not to be that involved. barack obama as president. i saw it where i voted. the african american community come out and supported him because they were prideful. after that, they went home. they are not going to get involved in the 2010 elections. the democrat also take a hit and the rich will keep on doing what they are doing. they browbeat everything down. i don't see anything around it. i'd like to see the way the fellow gets up there. host: a twitter message on all

of this. one viewer writes tone is not the problem. people seem to be entitled to their own facts unchallenged by the media. that tone is moot. we'll go to the telephone. caller: good morning. happy new year. the tone has changed but not for the positive. the problem is they are running out of things to blame on bush. obama and his appearance to do what he cares about. the democrat controlled congress rahming it down the american people's throats.

i think democrats in this next election will take it on the chin probably as badly as they did in 1994. >> happy new year. pictures of two democrats. how many seats are in play? they write that the political report estimate that's 77 democratic house seats could be competitive this year compared with 26 gop seats. most say it is not a question of whether the republican party will pick up seats but how many. we point out as well that

charlie cook will be on this program tomorrow together to take your calls on the 2010 political outlook. that will start at 8:00 eastern time tomorrow. host: good morning. caller: happy new year. host: same to you. caller: i think the president has tried his best. i think i would a degree. people seem to be entitled to their fact. the media has done a very bad job. also, i think that the guys that donate money seem to control the tone more than the guys that vote for the politicians. the president is trying his best.

i think republicans and healthcare reform and the democrats want to do healthcare reform. republicans seem to have agreed that they don't want healthcare reform because they don't want him to get the credit for the reform. they made up their minds not to support it. it is up to what we are saying now. the new year and an opportunity for a chance to come together for a chance to vote for them. host: we have new york on the line now with benny a democrat. good morning. caller: hello. host: what do you make of president obama and the tone here in washington?

caller: i think he's had some pretty bad advicors. the first year in office, you shouldn't waist on one agenda. you should build up by passing several things. mrs. clinton could have warned him how hard it was going to be. host: thanks for calling. politic co-writes no silent break for gop lawmakers. on the sunday before christmas, 40 conservative house republicans jumped on a conference call. the message from the study chairman, this is no time for a vacation. the capital is quiet, gop law makers have been anything but quiet. the gas price protest from the summer of 2008, republicans determined to win the winter break.

beating up democratic colleagues on healthcare, attacking president obama over the christmas day terror plot and refusing to give in to a traditionally slow cycle. host: has president obama changed the tone in washington? caller: i'd like to agree with a couple of calls back. his intent is to change it. he's having difficulties. i strongly believe and support the president who holds the office and the position. i like to think it is not about the democrat ors republicans. it's about our country trying to build back and get the strength of the united states and international environment back on one accord. i think that the terror attempts and aircraft against

the u.s. citizens can be attributed to the fact that we are bickering among ourselfs in our country. this allows these types of groups to get stronger. we as a party, one party, not about the democrat ors republicans or the independent, it's about the people of the united states as a whole. i think once we start focusing. if our elected officials would focus on joining together as one for the people, then we would probably be able to do a lot more and support our president. he's a very smart man. if they would support him more so than fight against him, we would go a lot further. host: let's hear from pam now

on the independent line. caller: good morning. i think that he's really trying to change the tone. like the article you just read. they were right on about how republicans just want to stop him from zoing anything. i believe most of that, people would call in, they should try to get more information from different sources than just watch one tv program that they idolize or whatever that word is that they believe in. they just want him to not agree with anything that he's doing. healthcare to me reading these polls wrong.

they are not putting in what they want. host: pressure thoughts. they write that the democrats have gotten plenty of air time but haven't done calk cuss style strat guysing during the holiday period. they have had regular conference calls and the key chairman will be ÷ next week. and they scoff add the republican holiday media strategy. here is an address in february. >> i know way vbt agreed on every issue thus far. there are surely times in the future we will part ways. i know every american sitting here tonight loves this country

and wants it to succeed. i know that. that's the foundation on sch the american people expect to build common ground. host: the president managing to squeeze in some golf in hawaii. aids say or stress the advisory and officials on the decision making especially on the issue of the airline bombing attempt. headlines says leaving

washington behind getting harder for the president. they talk about the criticism as he's been away. the president prepares for his return to washington. it's unclear whether they will have an impact. >> 48 hours of missing tape. vacationing nearby. clearly the republicans who have short memory use the period of non-communication to politically paint him on being weak on national security when the option is true. have you to get the truth out in time. brazil thinks after a quick rebound that the obama team is now on top of the game. host: do you have an idea? caller: the president is trying.

time and time again, he has stuck his hand out. i agree with the democrats sometimes. he has to come with some kind of comprimise. americans, that's what we are first. we sit down and do what is right for our country. i'm united states military. i'm proud to have this man as my commander and chief. priff dense rhode island, ur on the republican line good morning. host: please turn the sound down, if you could. go ahead. caller: i'm a republican. i want to say that we americans should know these things.

i'm a black male, right. look at the terrorist -- [inaudible] host: thank you. let's hear from obama now. is it scotty? go ahead has president obama changed the tone here in washington? caller: i called about that guy calling about tort reform. i don't see what the big deal is about tort reform.

the loan effort seen as adding to house wos. read more in the 9/11s today. we covered a hearing on this issue. chinese banks find their credit in high command. >> what i wanted to say is obama will do better but

there's been a lot on the news about rush limbaugh lately. bush 41 wanted to -- when he was running the second time, he got desperate. he got rush limbaugh to back him up with his friend. one morning, william buckly was on your program. brian was there. they were having a decision with another person. the subject of rush came up. the man said russian sulted jackie kennedy and bill clinton's mother at her funeral. he said, well i would be disappointed but the fact is that it was true. this man -- something has to be done.

every time the democrats go after him about 8,000 graduating dodo heads come out. the way you do it. i'm talking to african american people out there. just boycott any station that carries rush limbaugh. he's a debtment to this country. host: one last call from california a republican. you get the last word here. caller: ok. thanks. i'm a republican, i'm black. i'm 68 years old. i see some of the things going on. i don't think there was any change in what is happening. i don't believe there's any change. i don't believe there's going to be any change. you have the majority of people democrats still calling in and blaming bush for what has happened and they have the congress, the house, the president. allse